MARKET REPORT: Ferrexpo rises on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine

Ukraine-based iron ore mine Ferrexpo saw its shares hit a nine-month high with the election of Donald Trump.

The world’s third-largest iron ore pellet exporter shot up 27.3 percent, or 17 cents, to 79.2 cents as traders bet Trump would bring a quick end to the war with Russia, which Trump said he would do ‘within one day’ after taking the war. current.

Ferrexpo has continued to operate its iron ore mines in Ukraine despite the invasion in early 2022. But it has faced ongoing disruptions to its supply lines, which have weighed on the company’s performance.

“Given the Ukrainian mining and processing plant, Ferrexpo currently includes the potential of a settlement in Ukraine,” said analysts at broker Peel Hunt.

‘A settlement, which allows for much cheaper shipments of Ferrexpo’s pellets to the markets, could see the shares recover to the 300 to 400 pence level where they were trading in late 2020 to early 2022.’

As investors digested the US election results, the FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent, or 5.71 points, to 8,166.68, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.4 percent, or 76.66 points, to 20,446.70.

Companies with US exposure posted big gains, with Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels rising 5.2 percent, or 448p, to 9,002p.

Rolls-Royce was also among the gainers, amid hopes it could benefit from rising US defense spending and airline demand for planes.

Shares in roles rose 2.5 percent, or 14 cents, to 574 percent – ​​an increase since ‘Turbo’ Tufan Erginbilgic took the reins early last year to 475 percent.

That gave the British engineering giant, which powers the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet and makes engines for both fighter jets and commercial aircraft, a valuation of £47.6 billion. Rival aerospace group BAE Systems gained 4.9 percent, or 63p, to 1343p.

Trump’s return to the White House is seen as bullish for European defense stocks, given his threat to force fellow NATO members to spend 2 percent or more of their national output on defense.

One of the biggest gainers was construction equipment rental company Ashtead Group, which rose 5.6 percent (or 332 cents) to 6,300 cents.

It was founded in 1947 and makes most of its money in the US, where it supplies equipment for filmmaking and TV productions, among other things. Elsewhere, mid-cap insurer Lancashire rose 6.5 per cent, or 41p, to 670p after its upbeat trading update shrugged off recent losses from storms and hurricanes in the US and unveiled a special £140m dividend for investors.

Its closest rival Beazley rose 1 per cent, or 8p, to 778p, after reporting a 7 per cent rise in premiums to £3.6bn for the nine months to September, boosting forecast damage from hurricane-related claims of £97m to £ was compensated. 136 million.

White goods retailer AO World saw the City watchdog approve the £10 million takeover of second-hand CD, DVD and technology store MusicMagpie. AO World shares rose 0.95 percent or 1 cent to 105 cents, while MusicMagpie was flat at 8.75 cents.

Meanwhile, shares of pollster YouGov rose 2.3 percent, or 10 cents, to 453 cents after it reported sales for the year to July rose 30 percent to £335 million, with investors seeing a drop in missed pre-tax profits by 21 percent to £45 million.